The Crown Teaser- Chapter's 1 & 2
by L.M. Keck
Summary: Hannah Porter wakes up, but the space between nightmare and long awaited dream is trickier to navigate than she ever imagined.


**Chapter 1**

When my body came to again, the strangest of feelings were running through my tired body, like an electric current was violently forcing my muscles to awaken. There was an insistent noise coming from my ears, a harsh ringing combined with the steady rhythm of electronic beats that made it impossible for me to clear my head. After another thump on my chest, everything descended in blessed silence, at least from the noises.

The ringing was still there, voices and timbers obscured because my ears didn't seem to be working properly. As my mind panicked, the feeling of such strong disorientation had my eyes flying open in the hopes I could figure out what was going on.

My eyes however did not want to work, they refused to open as did the rest of my muscles when I tried to manipulate them. The sensation of being stuck, yet with my mind able to wander free, would have sent me into a panic attack. I should be hyperventilating, feeling the stark uptick in my heartbeat like a warning bell. But there was nothing there, no internal squeaks or thumps, no intake and out of air in my lungs.

So I really was dead, and this is the afterlife? Stuck in a body that has given up, but a conscious that is tethered to it's traitorous and broken humanity. I felt hands on me, and a strange wetness that dripped onto my face and ran off my cheeks, soaking the pillow my head lay on. My ears still were foggy, unable to discern who was speaking, or what was being said. Just as I got a grip on something tangible, my mind went blank and I sank into the abyss once more.

After some time, impossible to tell how much time had passed, I felt a roughness on my cheek, my mind snapping to consciousness yet again. It was a quick brushing of stubble against the soft cushion of my face brought me back. Without air I couldn't smell who it was, though an instinct I didn't know I possessed had me itching to do so.

There were hands on my face, one on each side, and the barest of kisses dotting my lips, forehead, cheeks. With touch my only compass, I tried to concentrate and focus on the only sense I seemed to have been left with, but then the motion was gone and I was left sadly adrift, without something to anchor me. It felt like I was floating away, leaving what I knew, for things unknown.

"Hannah," I heard, softly as whisper in my mind, as another, longer, kiss swept my lips. It had to be Elijah, I fleetingly thought and hoped, he must have come for me. I wrangled with my limbs, thrashing mentally as I willed them to move. It was pointless, without an impulse from my brain there was nothing I could do to move. My ears were slowly unclogging, but not fast enough, the sounds of shuffling footfalls sent me panicking. The desire to move became overwhelming, I had to move, to show them I was still in here, to beg them to take me with them. To see Eli one last time, to make him mine.

_'Mine'_, I heard myself echo, as a tingling left my fingertips to snake up my arm. My mind instantly skidded to a halt, the warmth I felt there was familiar to me. My blood was once again running ever so slowly towards my heart. The other arm repeated the slow warming process, with each foot taking their own crawling turn, slower that my anxious mind was comfortable with.

It was then I heard the banging, like someone was breaking down the roof above me. Hard enough to seem to shake me from within, it came again, and I braced myself for an impact that would never come. The thumps were like a drum, beating at a steady pace, and increasing until there wasn't much of a break in between them, a continous sound like machine gun fire.

My chest was moving, the only answer I could fathom was that someone was attacking me, but the hits were coming from within. This was hell, I thought to myself, my body was attacking itself and I was stuck inside it, unable to leave. My skin was hot, the warmth I had enjoyed previously had vanished, replaced by a licking fire that was moving from uncomfortable to quickly intolerable. The skin on my forearms seemed to split, and I screamed into the darkness of my mind as my bones shattered under the cover of my flesh.

**Chapter 2**

There was a harsh light, causing my dry eyes to cringe as even a small amount filtered through my closed lids. I threw my hand over my face, breathing easier once I didn't have those shooting pains going through my head. The wind picked up, sending whatever I was wearing to flutter uselessly around me. While I could sense it was cold out, it didn't seem to bother me much.

Unsure if anyone could see my underwear with all the wind, I reached down to pull the fabric and cover me, but it felt strange, thin and starchy at the same time. Peeking under my arm, it seemed to be the light blue print of the hospital gown, now flapping gently against the tops of my pinked thighs. My arms weren't even threaded through the arm holes, it was simply hanging limp from my neck like a broken flag.

I sucked in a breath, struggling to get to my feet and tripping over myself like a newborn lamb with unsteady legs. My back thankfully backed up against a tree trunk, giving me enough support to look around at my surrounding, which indicated I was in a forest. Seemingly, in the middle of nowhere.

"What the fuck?" I asked out loud with surprising crass, looking around at the isolated location I had found myself at. There were leaves and sticks in my hair, which sent my arms flapping desperately to rid myself of them. I fumbled, but managed to quickly tie the hospital gown in the back, enough that it was hiding the bits I wanted private. Peeking down at my arms and legs, remembering the variety of IV lines that peppered each arm in the hospital, only to find nothing there. I took inventory of my arms and legs, small and fresh looking bruises and scrapes dotted here and there, but outside of that, there wasn't anything wrong with them.

A quick glance under my gown determined that while I didn't have any undergarments on, my torso and chest seemed normal, except for a large yellowing bruise that bloomed from the center of my breast plate. I placed my hand over it and felt the strong and steady rhythm of a normal heartbeat. A normal and strong heart beat. A heartbeat? The next words were spoken out to no one, coming out astonishingly hoarse and gravelly.

"I died, I know I did. And then..." I whispered out to the trees, letting my last memory hang in the air, the only answer they could give was a wave of their branches against the wind. Through a gap the timbers created, my eyes settled on two faces, and the memories came flooding back to me. A fast track motion of the events, leading to Robsin dragging me into the woods, brought it all back to me.

Remembering what happened with him, it wasn't any wonder why my mind had blocked it all out.

"_What are you doing with me?" I asked for what felt like the tenth time. After biting me in several spots, all which now felt as if they were aflame, he dragged me, unconscious, from the eye line of Madeline and Evaline, their faces the picture of guilt and concern. _

_When I came to, Robsin had shifted, not that it eased me any better. His human skin was almost as terrifying as the beast, his height reached an easy seven feet, fur now turned to hair still covered most of his chest and limbs. _

_We had gone so far deep into the woods that any traces of my parents house, or land, were long gone. I could scream for hours and no one would ever hear me. Sweat was trickling down my back and arms. Something dark was coming for me, I could feel it's shadow looming over my head, waiting to strike. My body had felt warm, almost excruciatingly so before, but now it seemed as if my veins were solid ice. _

_Robsin, having seen the change in my demeanor, turned and faced me then. "Do not run from me, it won't work even would you wish it. I am faster, stronger, and will keep dragging you back until the end of time, it matters not to me. The changing has never happen in one so late as you, one as weak as you, so returning you back will take considerable effort from both of us. We begin."_

_"__Begin, begin what? You're going to return me back?" I stammered out, anxiety and anticipation made my words sound trembling._

_"__In order to return, we must make you whole. Now, it is time for you to prove your worthiness. We begin."_

Through some instinct that was trigged by the memory, I looked at my hand again, reaching out with my mind and willing it to change. Fur sheathed my arm as my claws spilled forth, and I fell backwards in the dry leaves, staring in shock at what I had just done. The fur was now replaced by porcelain white skin, flawless and smooth. Too flawless, and too smooth, as if I had never been sick, as if nothing unkind had ever touched me.

"Holy fucking hell," I breathed, shaking my head from side to side in complete disbelief. With a quick check of my old spots, the place on my leg, the port marks on my chest, the surgical carve in my shoulder; all of my scars were gone, not a single one marred my body. My skin looked pink instead of sickly yellow, the plump looking skin healthy and youthful in appearance.

_"We can make you whole,"_ I heard Madeline echo in my head. It had never occurred to me what they were offering, never once had the thought of them fixing _all_ of me entered my mind when I had agreed.

A sudden though had me jumping on my bad leg, the strong muscles responding like a hair trigger, causing me to go farther into the air than I thought I was capable of. Hysterical laughter bubbled up, a strange disconnected sensation that had me both listening to, and making, the sounds all at once. My hearing was so intense it made me dizzy, everything I was feeling and taking in was stronger, turning me inside out.

The sound of twig snapping catapulted my body into motion, without my consent or recognition. Springing into a crouch, it registered with me that my throat was humming, a strange noise emanating from my chest. It was a growl, broken but audible, but regardless it scared the hell out of me. Not to mention that it had taken me about two seconds to get into this position, faster than it took me to blink.

"I come in peace," the man said as he stepped into my sight, holding one hand up, but carefully keeping the end of a shotgun pointed at my chest. My brain was scrambling with idea of what to do, and it took all of my self control not to let my wolf take over. She was violently thrashing against my skin, from the inside out, making her intentions quite clear. I had heard it often described before, the slipping of conscious control, but the sensation would never do those paltry words justice.

"Tell that to your gun," I snapped back, my words coming out harsh and gritty. My mouth felt so strange, like someone had packed my gums with cotton. Teeth I didn't know existed were pushing into my bottom lip, stinging as they pierced tender skin.

"Tell me who you are, what clan you are from, and why the hell you are in the middle of my woods. Then I will think about my current aim," he retorted, tilting his head as he took in what I was wearing.

"My name is Hannah, what do you mean these are your woods?" I asked, wanting to know what kind of person I was dealing with. If he was surprised by my question he didn't show it. The ensuing flash of gold in his eyes told me what he meant, and I quickly swallowed back my fancy retort. A werewolf with a trespasser wasn't something to be taken lightly, and I was now a sitting duck.

"This is my clan land little one. We had a report from a scout doing a check that he spotted you here. Are you ill?" he asked. It was an irrational response, but a hysterical bubble of laughter escaped my lips at the irony of his words.

"Are you hurt then?" he asked next, and I shook my head no, hot tears from my laughter spilling down my cheeks.

"Not anymore!" I exclaimed with a breath, holding my hands out like I was presenting myself. "I'm perfect now!" My laughter had subsided some, now coming out like shaking sobs. My emotions were controlling me, instead of the other way around, leaving me feeling internal whiplash.

"Are you banished or something?" he asked searching himself for an explanation as to way I would be out here like this. This was the first real spot of luck that hit me in some time. I had been frantically trying to figure out how to explain myself to him and he just handed it to me on a platter.

"Yes, I was banished from the my clan, for trying to kill myself some years back," I told him truthfully, never imagining that what my father decreed so long ago would ever come to benefit me. He eyed me speculatively, gazing from my face to my hands in quick succession. My person had no real weapon, no reason for him to be so defensive, but the wariness remained.

"Where am I now?" I asked cautiously, wondering where I had ended up.

"You are on the north end of the Prior lands. Right on the border with Mexico." My vision swam as the information sunk in. It was so far away from home, impossibly too far, and I had no real memory of having traveled here at all. In my mind, yesterday I was in the hospital, dying, dead really. Now I was here? The ground seemed to push up against me, inviting me to come towards in with a swoon.

"Wha...What's the date?" I asked, panting and trying to suppress the fear that was overtaking my system.

"It's August second," he informed me casually, a concerned expression on his face when he noticed my reaction to the information. I went into the hospital almost five weeks ago, and I suspected I had a been a wolf ever since. Otherwise, I would remember something, surely.

There were so many questions popping into my head, and the only thing I could focus on long enough was _him. _

'_Mine,'_ my brain said to itself when I pictured his face, shocking me into silence at the intensity of the thought, and the lack of options I had left to find him.

I had ten days until the wedding, only ten days to try to get to Elijah. '_Mine',_ I heard my wolf insistently say into my head again, a tickle of posession making it's way into my blood like it had been there all along, waiting to show itself. The man had broken into my thoughts with his next words.

"What I'd like to know is how you got past the Torchwood clan? They have a strict shoot on sight policy, nasty but effective. Not many make their way in this deep," the wolf-man said, jolting me into the present reality. The hand he had on the gun flexed, looking for a better grip. That didn't bode well for me, but I kept my stance as neutral as possible.

"I'm fast?" It came out as a half answer, half question, and trying to give him a reassuring smile didn't seem to help like it did normally. My charm wasn't working on this particular wolf, his hard jaw ticked in agitation.

Taking a deep sigh, I tried again. "Truth is, I don't know exactly how I got here, or what happened on my way. I have no cuts or bruises, and I don't taste blood or meat, so I am assuming I didn't do anything wrong. I've been stuck a bit, my- my wolf must have taken over and I just ran." It was as close to the truth as I was going to get, mainly because I didn't have the first clue what was going on with me. I needed to stick to as much of my story as possible, or I was going to make a stupid mistake.

"What did you say your name was again?" he asked, tilting his head to run his gaze over me once more, searching for the answers my words were trying to keep hidden.

"Hannah," I whispered, not wanting to give him a fake name, but knowing I was unable to give him my real one.

"I'm Lyle, beta of the Prior clan here. Let just give your old clan a call, if they can corroborate your story, I can help you on your way. Where are you heading?" he asked, curiosity and clear concern making his brows crease.

The thought of home came to mind first, getting Jameson or Grayson to come and get me, but that was nearly as perilous for me, as it was for them. Everyone thought I was dead, how on earth was I going to now explain to them that I wasn't?

Not to mention the questions my parents would have for me. And that was all outside of the fact that I was now a wolf. There was only one person insane enough to convince to help me, and she was in the heart of the lion's den, Ilora. Even with all the optimism of her crazy nature, it was stretch then as well. She, along with the rest of them, hating the existence of what I was now. Would old bonds outrank the prejudice? The question was, would I be willing to risk my life on it? A hesitant answer came to mind.

"I..I don't get along with my father, the alpha of the clan I was from. I was on my way to visit a vampire friend of mine, and I got a bit lost," I told him, trying to come up with the right term for wolves who get caught in their animal for a long time. Wrong, feral, changling, beastly, take your pick. But none of the adjectives that I had heard growing up sounded like something I wanted to attribute to my current state.

"Vamps? Well, I don't think I need to tell you that isn't a good idea. These are dangerous times Hannah, especially for a fragile thing like you to be running with their kind." One look down and I could see his point. With my bloody torn gown, very small frame, and wild eyes, I looked like a lost girl with obvious issues. Lyle didn't strike me as the type to let a lost she wolf like me go without some concern, it wasn't in most male wolves to allow me that.

"Trust me, my father is worse than whatever they could do." It was said with a stark seriousness, and I was left shuddering when I thought about what Henry would do to me if he knew I was a fully shifter now. A visible muscle jumped in Lyle's cheek, and it was clear he misinterpreted my statement. Just as I was about to correct him, he pulled out his cell phone. The gun was still on me, but he seemed appeased of my intentions for the moment, so the comment died in my mouth.

"Give me this vamp's number, if they can confirm your story, at least your name, that's enough for me." After releasing a long breath out that I didn't realize I was holding, the reality of the situation hit me. I didn't have her direct line, and no way of reaching her through the seethe. It's not like they had a receptionist.

"I don't know her number, um, can you just take me into town? I can figure something out from there." The back of my gown was starting to collect sweat. Containing my wolf, and trying to remember I had secrets to keep, had my head throbbing. It was quickly becoming too much.

"Child, how long have you been running wolf?" he asked, as a wave of anxiety crushed my stomach into a huge knot. Wariness was turning into a small snake of fear at his question. Lyle was too damn perceptive.

He must think I'm nuts, I thought to myself, there was no other plausible explanation for what was going on. A rogue unstable wolf was the biggest threat to a clan, and I fit every possible profile for one.

"About a month," I said, trying to shrug off the severity of such a run. He knew, like I did, that most wolves have a hard time keeping form for more than a few days. A full month, and most shifters didn't come back in one piece, at least not a human piece. Feral disease was a problem for every clan, the balance between human and beast was so fragile that even the most innocent disruption can cause a permanent rip.

"A month, by the gods Hannah. I have to take you to my alpha, that's beyond unusual. You could be going rogue, sometimes females just lose themselves when mating season starts. I cannot let you go now, you have to come with me." His eyes said he meant business, and it scared the living hell out of me. The last place I wanted to be was in another wolf clan right now. I started backing up, eyes wild and glowing in my face as I scanned the surroundings for a way out. His whole demeanor changed in that instant, from friendly to enemy in one quick sweep of my actions.

Lyle was looking at me as a threat, a clear threat to him and his family.

"Your eyes are glowing blue child, what the hell are you?" he asked, lowering his eyes down the barrel of the gun as it blazed bright in the setting sun. Most shifters glowed a variation of orange and yellow, but blue was left for the original immortals. The first of the beasts, the first of the skin walkers, the very first pack of animals to have been gifted the ability to shift, pick your favorite campfire tale, it mattered little fore they all spoke of the same beast. Immortals like that were nearly impossible to kill, and had the hair trigger reputation of killing without asking questions. Wolves didn't own the monopoly on them, nearly every shifter species had their own variance, but the product was always the same. Half insane shape changers that were as volatile as they were worshiped. Most never made it towards a century of life, either by their own hand, or another. If this was my fate, my choice of making me whole seemed like it's own savage joke.

Lyle was glancing at me like he expected me to shift on the spot, his own wolf causing the pale skin on his face to look dark with the oncoming fur.

Time was of the essence now, I had to figure a way out before things got dark, I wasn't familiar with the area enough to get away cleanly if it was already night out. This needed to end sooner rather than later.

"There is nothing wrong with me, I just want to be on my way," I said in a gentle, calm voice. It didn't sound or look quite right through a mouth full of knife like fangs.

"I can't let you do that Hannah," he said with a growl.

"I'm not sure you have a choice Lyle." The words were lost in my deep growl.

"Oh, I have a choice. I'm the one holding the gun." Before I could speak again, he shot off three rounds in quick succession. All three lodging themselves directly in my chest.


End file.
